Comprehensive physical domain care needs of burn patients: a qualitative study

Abstract

Introduction: Burn patients have various physical needs. To provide full care for such patients, we need a broad range of services. The current study aims at showing the physical needs of burn patients.

Methods: The current qualitative study has been done through content analysis. The data were collected from 20 in-depth, unstructured individual interviews with hospitalized patients with burns on more than 25% of their body, nurses, physiotherapists, and psychologists. The participants were selected by purposive sampling. The data were analyzed with a conventional content analysis approach using the Elo and Kyngas method.

Results: By analyzing the data, 7 main categories were obtained from 932 primary codes: the necessity to provide optimal physiotherapy, the necessity of the patient's overall physical assessment, the necessity of monitoring and coordination in care, healthy nutrition for burn patients, the need for pharmacotherapy, the need for pain reliefs, and finally the theme for comprehensive physical care needs in burn patients.

Conclusion: According to the findings, by applying the extracted categories, it is possible to provide quality care based on the patient's individual needs. This can help speed up the treatment and shorten the length of hospitalization significantly.

Keywords: burn; care needs; physical domain; qualitative study.